


Leave the Soul Alone

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: Under The Wing of A Nibel Dragon [17]
Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Forced Relationship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nibel Verse, Prophetic Dreams, Sephiroth Appreciation Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27258856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: In which spirits find that they share something in common; ShinRa's strongest SOLDIER.Sephiroth Week Day. 6 Otherworldly
Relationships: Lucrecia Crescent & Aerith Gainsborough (Compilation of FFVII), Lucrecia Crescent & Cloud Strife's Father, Lucrecia Crescent & Hojo, Lucrecia Crescent & Ifalna (Compilation of FFVII), Lucrecia Crescent & Sephiroth, Lucrecia Crescent/Jenova
Series: Under The Wing of A Nibel Dragon [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/722427
Comments: 30
Kudos: 73





	Leave the Soul Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Holy fuck, I ripped two fics in under 24hrs and now I'm caught up?! 
> 
> Enjoy with caution!

* * *

Lucrecia looked at the figure lingering before her self-imposed prison, the fall of platinum blond unfamiliar to her through the Mako crystal. 

_"Who are you to disturb my rest?"_ she questioned harshly, projecting with her Cetra abilities, limited though they were by _**Her**_. _"There are no treasures worth taking here."_

The figure's green eyes crinkled at the corners as they laughed, the sound rather masculine. "I'm here to take you, ma'am!" 

_"You mustn't! I'm—"_

"Dangerous? Because of your lil guest? Ha! Between two Cetra and whatever the hells us Strifes have, I think we got her under lock for a decent amount of time. Besides, I'm only taking your spirit, not th' rest of you!" The figure barked out a wry laugh and leaned on her prison. 

This was, of course, when Lucrecia remembered the particular person before her. 

A local hunter, one who had shown interest in taking care of—

Her son. 

The ruin of the Planet. 

_"How is he? My son?"_ She would take the smallest scrap if it allowed her know her child vicariously. 

The hunter shook his head, "I'm not tellin', that would put a damper on things!" 

_"Then leave me,"_ she snarled, the cruelty of hope too much to bear for her. 

"I told you, I'm breaking your spirit out, ma'am! You get to see for your good ol' self~" he chirruped effortlessly, "Oh. Right, name's Fenris Strife. Which name do you prefer?" 

_"You may use Dr. Crescent-Valentine,"_ Lucrecia's old pride stung her into answering as she might have in the past. 

"Ah-ha! Take that, Dragon Dung, even your ex-wife won't even take your name in psuedo-death!" Strife crowed gleefully. 

_" **Explain yourself, Strife**?!"_ she replied desperately, her hands clasped all the tighter in prayer, in entreaty. 

"Alright, take my hand," 

_"I cannot-"_ Her protest was half-hearted at best, a warning at worst.

"My hand, jus' trust me, hmm?" Strife held it out against the crystal and she found herself out of the crystal she'd been trapped in for the better part of a decade. "Whew! Crystal must get stuffy as all hells in there." 

"Does she have control of me?" Lucrecia inquired, she hoped, with some semblance of control. 

"Nah, your Ma and Ifa got a hold of that particular Zolom, Dr. Crescent-Valentine." Strife informed her cheerfully. "Now, c'mon, you've got a _kind_ to see!"

* * *

They flew across the ocean, skated over a much larger Junon with a hideous canon until they floated over Midgar.

Metal plates covered what had once been the sprawling township, the magnificent church buried under a metal sky. 

It hurt her heart to see, the green smog clouding what had once been beautiful plains. The part of her that listened to the Planet's whispers through the Lifestream was crying out but also sang with familiar power. 

"Ifa!" A smaller, much more shy presence ducked behind her sister and oh—A niece; her sister had had a daughter! "Who's this?" 

"She's not with the scary grey lady?!" 

Lucrecia winced at the reminder. "I... I'm sorry about that." Her son, her little angel— "Where is Sephiroth?" 

"He should be in any moment now," Ifa teased, "covered in mud. Three, two," 

"Aunt Ifalna, I can't pinpoint why the 'Stream's all jittery, its driving me up a wall—Mama." 

Silver hair, like her dreams, like her nightmares, framing slit pupils of brilliant green. 

He'd called her Mama though; that had to count for something.

Her hope would yet kill the Planet, she decided, even as she took in his mud-scruffed cheeks that looked so like Vincent's. 

"Hi baby," she crooned, not heeding the tears that streamed down her face. "I can only stay for a while but your Auntie is holding _**Her**_ at bay along with," Strife shook his head, "a friend. Tell me everything you can?" 

Sephiroth opened his mouth, raised his finger and then shook his head. "That's too long, Chichiue said twenty minutes or less," 

"Chichiue?" 

"Mn! I... don't like F-father. Hojo used it," her angel explained with a grimace. 

"Chichiue it is then," she agreed with a firm nod, "go on?"

* * *

Sephiroth was sharing a story about his little brother when he hissed in a breath and clapped his left hand against his right shoulder. 

"Is something wrong, angel?" Lucrecia hovered over the spot, her hands wringing because she wasn't sure if her touch would make things worse for her son. 

"It's... a gift from _**Her**_ ," Sephiroth admitted bluntly, grimaced as his shoulder bulged unnaturally. 

"I'm causing you pain," she finished with a resigned sigh. 

"No!" Sephiroth spun on one knee to reassure her, his hands almost engulfing hers the way Vincent's had done. Her baby was growing up, it seemed, in the hands of people who cared deeply for him. "Never," 

"I have though, my angel, and not just now," she disagreed. 

"I don't like how it makes me look, Mama," Sephiroth countered with a sad smile. "If you want to see it, I'll stop hiding." 

"I don't want you in pain, if it helps, release it," she pleaded. 

The black down made her blanch, the singular black wing a stark contrast to her nightmares. 

It was groomed, the feathers clean and well-placed. 

Her nightmares had it constantly shedding feathers, ragged and the edges spiked out. 

"Who grooms it?" 

"Family," he smiled, "you... You don't hate it?" 

"I love all of you, little angel, even your wing."

* * *

She spent a few precious hours getting to know her niece and her son all over again, by turns crying and laughing. 

"Time's up, Doc," Strife warned even as his eyes looked over Sephiroth with a deep-seated love and pain of their own. 

"Why don't you talk to him too?" She pressed, "Why help us?" 

"He needs to move on," Strife argued.

"Fen-Fen?!" Sephiroth was elated, his wing vibrating in place. "You're here too?" 

"I can't stay long—" 

Salt flew into the air, tears sparkling in the late afternoon sun as Sephiroth barreled full speed into the spirit that had helped her see her son. 

A son they shared, she found, and one that missed the parents that time or distance had stolen from him. 

"I missed you-hic!-so much!?!" 

"I know, _kind_ , but this visit was for your Mama-" 

"You're my family too!" Sephiroth argued fiercely, somehow all the sweeter for the tears on his face. "You were a better-hic!-F-father than dragon dung!" 

"I could only hope so, _kind_ ," Strife, no, Fenris sighed as he enveloped their son in a hug. 

"You were," Sephiroth sniffled as he held her close as well, "both of you were better parents than _him_." 

Lucrecia could only pray that her nightmares were just that; nightmares instead of predictions for the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


End file.
